Tuesday, March 11, 2008

More Culture Thoughts

Last year we marveled at how perfect Peter is to work with because he understands both Western and Haitian culture. He is the bridge between the cultures - simply stated, he gets us and he gets Haiti.`He adopts things from both cultures and falls squarely in the middle of the two. As soon as we get him a bulb syringe we can help his switch over to western ways of cleaning out a baby's nose. *That* will be nicer for everyone. ;) (Just when you got over gagging, we bring back the visual for you.)

`He is one of the most interesting people to spend a day with because he likes to talk. He likes to talk a lot. He thinks out loud and it matters not if you feel like joining in a conversation, sitting and listening works just fine for him.

`We get a kick out of the things that bug him. So much of what bugs him is stuff we just laugh at now and shrug our shoulders.

`Peter rages about the way people drive. One day we were on our road behind a loaded down tap-tap. (You know the joke, right? Q. How many people will fit onto a tap-tap? A. One more. Bah-dum-dum) Peter starts into a royal crabbing session that went something like this - "Oh my gosh, why do they do that? Why do they think they can put that many people on one truck? What is that driver thinking? He will never make enough money with the extra people to pay off the truck repairs that are going to be needed because of all of that weight. Oh that is so stupid."

`Peter is great at working out issues between employees. Troy usually just says, "work it out or else." Once there were two cooks fighting. To Troy it sounded like total craziness, something along the lines of a Noah and Hope fight. One cook said that the other cook could not have children because she was a werewolf and the one who had been called the name was incredibly upset and was going to sue. (Litigious societies span the globe.) We don't know exactly how he does it, but Peter seems to help people work out their odd grievances.`One thing we've learned living here is that stories evolve. Rarely - okay, never - does a story get told and retold the same way twice. It is almost never clear what the real story is. Peter does a great job of telling the Americans the parts he knows they care about, and leaving out the drama and embellishments.`Last night when something was stolen and Troy asked if anyone got a description of the person who had taken the item - the description given was "Li gen bel tennis" or "He had nice/pretty tennis shoes." HA! Find a perpetrator based on that description. We're tacking up posters with that information all over town. ;-)`Everyone was up in arms about it, except us. Troy sort of shrugged, chuckled and went back to what he was doing. There are so many things you cannot control, petty theft is just one of many. Letting go of the idea that you can micromanage things is rule number one. There is a ton of freedom in learning that lesson. It again goes back to the "check your motives, pray for guidance, and be ready to make mistakes" thing. We cannot fix everything, and in fact fixing things (or trying to change culture) is not really our business.`The following two paragraphs are taken from an article written by Noel Becchetti. The entire article he wrote is linked here. We speak only for ourselves in agreeing with what he says, it is worth reading and thinking about. When you have time, check it out and see what *you* think.`Have you read Matthew 25:31-40 lately? It's one of Jesus' most significant discourses. After all, he's articulating the actions by which God decides who's going to heaven and who's headed You Know Where. What's fascinates me in this passage is what he doesn't say. Do you notice what he leaves out in his charge to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and minister to the sick? He says nothing about what results are supposed to be achieved through these actions. There's no talk about ending hunger, defeating poverty, or seeing the prisoner go straight. He says simply to Do It, because when we do, we're somehow ministering directly to Our Lord. `Jesus gives us the freedom to go into our mission and service trips with the goal of just plain ministering. We don't have to achieve certain "results" to justify our investment. Frankly, we might not recognize some of God's divine results when we see them! But as we can remove our cultural blinders, discard the limitations we place on God's definition of ministry, and "leave the driving" to Him, we can begin to understand what it means to be Jesus' hands and feet to a hurting world.

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Who we are...

To Reach Us: Livesayfamily@gmail.com - We live, learn, love, & work and sometimes go slowly crazy in Port au Prince, Haiti. In the 13+ years we've been here, one thing we've learned: God is not made manifest in our ability to "fix" or heal, but in our need to be healed. Recognizing this weakness leaves us in a position of having little to offer. It reveals our own need to be restored to wholeness. We are not fixers of people or countries or things. We are here trying to extend empathy, love and grace to others, the way it has been extended to us.

May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships - so that we may live deep within our hearts. May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people - so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war - so that we may reach out our hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in the world - so that we can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor. Amen. (Franciscan Benediction)

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